Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Plum and Cherry Compote

A beautiful, delicious and simple (and vegan and gluten-free) late summer/early autumn dessert. I usually make it with plums alone, but as I had a handful of dark red cherries on the countertop, I threw these in as well. It lovely served with some whipped cream, or perhaps some curd cheese cream - or, as I ate it yesterday, au naturel.

Wash the plums, halve and remove the stones. Place sugar, water and plums into a medium-sized saucepan and simmer for about 7-10 minutes, until plums are soft and starting to disintegrate.
Mix starch with some cold flour pour into the compote, whisking/stirring rigorously to avoid any lumps. If you are using potato starch, then remove the saucepan from the heat source just after the first few bubbles appear again. If you are using cornflour, then simmer on a low heat for a few minutes, until the compote starts to thicken. Remove from the heat.
Cool before serving.

Holly, feel free to reduce the amount of sugar. I didn't find the amount of sugar excessive (and I don't like things sweet, as anyone knows who's tried my cakes). However, plums often get sharper and more sour in flavour when subjected to heat (especially on top of cakes), so too little sugar can mean the compote ends up too sour. It depends a lot on the flavour of the plums. Feel free to experiment with less sugar..

Everybody's recipes and photos are so fresh looking and summery. I'll miss all this fresh fruit when winter returns, but in the meantime, we make the most of it and enjoy every bite. Thank you for another lovely recipe and photographs.

Our tongue gets used to a consistent sugar level, whatever amount we use. I consistently halve sugar called for in recipes, and everything still tastes sweet. The freshest fruit sometimes needs no sugar.

Pille, thank you for replying :) Two years ago I fell in love with the Estonian girl I mentioned, but before I could talk to her she left London, and she hasn't been back since. Now, I'm searching the world for her to tell her that I love her. Truly, Estonian girls are the most beautiful women on Earth! Best wishes, and congratulations on your exceptionally fantastic blog.